Pippin
Pippin was an open multimedia technology platform, designed by Apple Computer, and marketed as PiPP!N by Bandai and Katz Media. According to Apple, Pippin was directed at the home market as "an integral part of the consumer audiovisual, stereo, and television environment."Bandai Pippin FAQ, The Mac Geek. Accessed 2017-04-10. demonstrates a Pippin console.]] Pippin was based on a run-time version of Apple's Macintosh operating system and second-generation Power Macintosh hardware, and designed to load software from "Pippinized" CD-ROMs. History Bandai CEO Makoto Yamashina (山科 誠) selected Apple's Macintosh as the basis of the Pippin platform due to its ease of use.Interview - 'We Sell Dreams to Kids' by Cesar Bacani and Murakami Mutsuko, CNN. 1996-04-19. On December 13, 1994, Apple Computer announced the platform in Tokyo. A special Pippin briefing had been held on November 10-11, 1994 at Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, followed by a Pippin developer's workshop in Tokyo on December 15, 1994.Un goodies Pippin : un sweatshirt Pippin (French) by Pierre Dandumont, Le Journal du Lapin. 2018-10-14. 's Pippin exhibit at the 1995 Tokyo Toy Show.]] The console was initially called the Pippin Power Player and had been scheduled for release during the 1995 holiday shopping season.'Morphing' Into The Toy World's Top Ranks by Andrew Pollack, The New York Times. 1995-03-12. Prototypes were shown at MILIA '95,Bandai Pippin Image Archive, The Mac Geek. Macworld Expo Tokyo '95,Macworld Expo/SF 1996 Report by Koya Matsuo, YouTube. 2016-05-10. the 1995 Tokyo Toy Show,1995年東京おもちゃショー　オーレンジャー　ビーファイター by kbigstone, YouTube. 2013-01-19. and the 1996 Consumer Electronics Show.5 decades of CES hits and epic flops - 1996: Apple Pippin by Julianne Pepitone, CNN Money. 2011-01-04. By the time it debuted in March 1996 as the Pippin Atmark in Japan, Bandai had spent $93 million on marketing and development.Power Ranger - A Japanese Toymaker Invades Cyberspace by Cesar Bacani and Murakami Mutsuko, CNN. 1996-04-19. The American version, the Pippin @WORLD, was unveiled on May 15, 1996, the day before the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.E3 and Other Adventures in Electronic Entertainment by Jake Richter, PC Graphics Report. 1996-05-21. However, it did not ship until the following December, missing much of the 1996 holiday season.@World: Pippin shippin' by David Morgenstern, MacWEEK vol.10-46. 1996-12-02. Archived 1996-12-20. On June 4, 1996, Katz Media announced in Paris that it was joining the partnership to market the platform in Europe.Katz Media Signs Worldwide Licensing Agreement for Apple's Pippin Technology, Katz Media. Archived on 1997-07-13. Bandai produced the consoles as an OEM for Katz Media.Bandai and Katz Media announce cooperation to develop European Pippin Market, Katz Media. Archived on 1997-07-13. The KMP 2000 began shipping in Europe on March 17, 1997.Katz Media Begins Shipping Pippins in Europe, Katz Media. Archived on 1997-07-13. During Marché international des Inforoutes et du Multimédia '97, Groupe Arborescence announced a partnership with Katz Media to develop and market a new Euro-Canadian console based on the Pippin for the Canadian market.Press: Arborescence launches the first Canadian-content Network Centric computer, Katz Media. 1997-05-22. Archived 1997-07-13. Platform goals motherboard.]] By September 1996, Apple had been demonstrating the Pippin 2.0 specification, to create a convergence device that would have included support for DVD, MPEG-2, AC-3, and FirewWire (IEEE 1394) with a faster PowerPC processor, at prices starting under $500.Options will make Pippin 2 a home, network computer by David Morgenstern, MacWeek vol.10-37. 1996-09-30. Archived 1996-12-20. According to Apple Computer at IEEE Compcon '97 in San Jose, California:Pippin: adapting PC technology for the technophobe by E.R. Sirkin, V. Mehra, E. Keshishoglou, L. Madar, A. Carter, W. Knott; Apple Computer, Inc. 1997-02-23. Pippin represents the first industry attempt to repackage modern personal computer hardware and software in a form that is more acceptable and affordable to a technophobic consumer. Its design goals represented compromises between a mutually competing set of requirements: performance, "ease of use", system software footprint, time-to-market, TV-centric, manufacturing costs, etc. It is the first commercially-deployed appliance to be optimized for the multimedia-rich home and school marketplaces. All technical goals of the program were achieved, resulting in a flexible and simple-to-operate multimedia consumer appliance. Reception and discontinuation Bandai originally set sales targets of 200,000 units in Japan and 300,000 units in the United States. Analyst Fujine Yasuaki (藤根靖晃) of Smith Barney International was less optimistic, projecting sales to reach half of the target. By September 1996, an online poll conducted by MacUser (USA) magazine found that a plurality of participants preferred that Apple cancel the Pippin over other product lines, such as Newton and Performa.Online poll, MacUser p.28. Ziff-Davis. 1995-09. Yuji Hirano, president of Bandai Digital Entertainment, denied a report by Nihon Keizai Shinbun on May 11, 1997 that Bandai would withdraw the Pippin platorm.What's New? 5月11日付け日本経済新聞 「バンダイピピン撤退」の記事について (Japanese), Atmark Channel Home Page. Archived 1997-06-29.Bandai Stops Making Pippin Atmark Machines, Wall Street Journal. 1997-05-12. To counter reports of poor sales in the consumer market,Pippin @World gets Ethernet, CNET News. 1997-05-21. Archived 2004-11-25. Bandai organized a Pippin @WORLD Business Unit to refocus the platform towards vertical markets such as corporate intranets.Background of BDE, Studio02. Accessed 2018-06-25. Steve Jobs, one of the original Apple co-founders, returned to the company while it was facing financial difficulty, and was named Interim CEO on September 16, 1997.Jobs named interim Apple CEO, C|NET. 1997-09-16. While reorganizing Apple to return it to profitability, Jobs eliminated many underperforming projects, such as the Pippin.For the good of the company? Five Apple products Steve Jobs killed by Casey Johnston, Ars Technica. 2011-08-25. After only selling 30,000 and 12,000 units respectively in Japan and the United States,Bandai kisses goodbye to Pippin console., Screen Digest. 1998-03-01. Bandai announced on February 27, 1998 that it would officially abandon the Pippin platform and close its subsidiary Bandai Digital Entertainment on March 13, 1998.Bandai Says Goodbye to Pippin by Chris Johnston, GameSpot. 1998-02-27. At the time, over 50,000 unsold units remained in inventory and Bandai's losses from the Pippin were estimated at $214 million dollars. Apple would not return to the consumer set-top market until 2007 with the Apple TV, the digital media player and microconsole which would go on to sell over 25,000,000 units by 2015.Apple TV has grown from a 'hobby' into a nice little business by Matt Rosoff, Business Insider. 2015-03-17. Consoles ]] Released * Pippin Atmark (Japan) * Pippin @WORLD (USA) * Katz Media Player 2000 (EU) Unreleased models and prototypes ]] :Main article: Pippin prototypes * Pippin concept prototype (EVT-1) * Pippin Power Player * Pippin Atmark-PD * Pippin Atmark-EX * Apple Pippin Set-top box * Arborescence Network Centric computer (Canada) Peripherals s]] Released * AppleJack-to-ADB adapter (and vice versa) * AppleJack barcode reader * AppleJack wireless infrared (IR) controller * AppleJack Y-split "twin" adapterMagazines and advertisements for the Pippin (French) by Pierre Dandumont, Le Journal du Lapin. 2018-08-25. * GeoPort Telecom Adapters (14.4, 28.8, 33.6 kbps) * Modems (14.4, 28.8, 33.6 kbps) * Pippin memory modules (2, 4, 8, 16 MB) * Pippin keyboard with drawing tablet and stylus * Pippin Atmark Floppy Unit * Deltis 230 MO Docking Turbo with magneto-optical driveDeltis 230 MO Docking Turbo (Japanese), Olympus. Archived 1997-06-22 Included Pippin support * Apple StyleWriter printers (II, 1200, 1500, 2200, 2400, 2500)Spec. by chemy cano, Pipp!n@Archive (Japanese). Archived 2007-02-05. * Epson Colorio printers Unreleased * Pippin ethernet dockPippin @World gets Ethernet, CNET News. 1997-05-21. Archived 2004-11-25. * Pippin Expansion Unit with PCI supportArborescence Launches KMP 2000 with New Peripherals, The Arborescence Group. 1997-05-22. Archived 1998-01-29. * Pippin SCSI dock * Pippin Zip dock Titles Bandai had expected to launch about 200 CD-ROM titles for the Pippin platform, with an emphasis on teaching and learning. However, only about half of that number had reached the market. * List of Pippin titles * List of unreleased Pippin titles References See also *Apple Interactive Television Box (1994-1996), Apple's previous effort to develop a set-top box. *Mac mini (2005-present), Apple's small desktop computer which added HDMI output in 2010. *Macintosh TV (1993-1994), Apple's first attempt to integrate a computer and television. *Pioneer MPC-LX200-TV (1996-1997), the only Macintosh clone with television capabilities. *Playdia (1994-1996), Bandai's previous game console system. *WonderSwan (1999-2003), Bandai's next game console system, which was handheld. External links *Apple's original Pippin site (archived 1997-04-14) *The 66 Most Asked Questions Regarding Pippin (PDF) by E.R. Sirkin, Apple Computer (1995-03-02) *Catalog Search: Pippin at the Computer History Museum *Apple’s Pippin and Bandai’s @World at Low End Mac *Bandai Pippin Museum & Archive at The Mac Geek *Pippin @WORLD resource directory *Hacking the Pippin at Vintage Mac World (archived 2017-08-17) (mirror) *Apple Bandai Pippin at Encyclopedia Gamia *Apple Pippin at Wikipedia Category:Apple Category:Technology